


Getting Rarity Away From Her Desk and Other Simple Annoyances

by Clocksmith



Category: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls
Genre: Care, Gen, Making Sure Rarity Eats Her Food, Rarity Works Too Much, Sisters, Sweetie Plays Minecraft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:08:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28198887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clocksmith/pseuds/Clocksmith
Summary: Sometimes Sweetie Belle was better at being the older sister.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	1. Bedtime

**Author's Note:**

> A new wee commission for Jacobgross777! :D

For as young as Sweetie Belle appeared to her sister (and her sister’s magically inclined friends), she could be quite the insistent little so-and-so when she wanted to be.

As such, she steeled herself for the minutes ahead.

Her back was rigid straight, her eyes focused. She gathered all the height that she could muster and plastered a _very_ serious look onto her face.

It was a face so impeccably serious that a very serious professor at the equally serious University of Professional Seriousness would secede his position as the most serious member of the school’s serious staff at the precise the moment he bore witness to Sweetie’s very serious face.

Finally ready to announce her presence, Sweetie Belle clenched her fists shut as she eyed the subject of her discontent.

"Bedtime, Rarity," she declared.

Rarity didn't actually budge in response, nor did she really turn to acknowledge Sweetie at all. Sweetie couldn’t see her face, but she just knew that her older sister was rolling her eyes up and past the ceiling.

"Bedtime indeed", Rarity groused under her breath. She let loose an ugly long yawn, eventually pushing herself away from the sequined purple fabrics in front of her and stretching out the muscles in her shoulders.

Only then did she turn to Sweetie Belle, leveling the very serious stare with a weary on-look of her own. "Sweetie Belle, really. I appreciate your concern, but I'm a capable businesswoman who is perfectly capable of looking after herself."

Businesswoman was a bit strong term when you were still in high school, nor was it entirely convincing when you used ‘capable’ twice in the same sentence.

But Sweetie didn't push it. "It's three in the morning and you're sewing tiny sequins onto a dress."

"And I am perfectly entitled to do so."

‘Entitled’ was at least a little better than another ‘capable’.

If not for the fact that Rarity was her sister, Sweetie would have absolutely throttled her. "And you think staying up this late before a workday is a smart idea because...?"

With a huff, Rarity pushed herself up onto her feet. Much like her sister, she balled her hands up into dainty little fists, but despite the extra height, the sleep in her eyes deflated any form of intimidation that she might have held.

To top it all off, she pouted.

"I am perfectly able to work with only four hours sleep, and I am also perfectly capable of doing so whilst completing my commissions."

Another ‘capable’. That’s how you knew Rarity was far gone; the ‘Eloquent Lady of the Manor’ left the manor entirely and this jumbled heap of makeup and pajamas was left in her place.

"You've sewn sequins onto your pajamas."

Even if said pajamas now had a few more additions to them than before.

Rarity blinked away whatever energy she had left as she peered down. The edge of her top was indeed lined with a fine sequence of sparkling silver sequined stars.

"I see," was her only reply, for a moment. Her thumbs played with the little studs, confirming that they were in fact well and truly sewed in.

But you couldn’t question Rarity without another question being thrown back at you. Exhausted, or not.

"Your point being?” she asked Sweetie. “ _You're_ still up."

"Bed, Rarity."

"As I said, you're still awake. If you can be awake, then I can certainly be awake."

"I'm playing Minecraft with Button Mash. I don't have any obligations tomorrow. I have no homework and no reason to be awake in five hours." Sweetie's eyes narrowed. "I am an innocent youngling with no responsibilities."

Rarity smiled. The sort smile you threw on because you were absolutely sure that you had the upper hand. "Be that as it may, I hardly think playing video games into the wee hours of the morning is good for a _youngling with no responsibilities._ ”

That wasn’t going to fly. "I scheduled my homework around being able to play games with Button tonight. And to get up late tomorrow. I'm not running behind and staying up late because I have to play catch up."

The squirmy smirk swiftly scurried back into the rotten little hole it had come from. "You make it sound like I'm being forced to stay up late."

"Aren't you? You're usually in bed by eleven."

"I like to stay up late sometimes, too."

"To do work?"

"Yes."

"So much work that you miss the dress entirely and started working on your pajamas instead." It was a statement, very much not a question.

"... I like to accessorize."

_"Rarity!"_

"Oh, fine!” she whined. “Fine, I'll stop making the _dress_ \- the dress I am being paid _very_ good money to create and waste my time _sleeping_."

Emphasis wasn’t going to save her now. "Good. You could use the beauty sleep."

Sweetie let the vein on Rarity's forehead get just big enough before she waved her down. "I'm kidding! Just kidding, really. Just _please_ get some sleep?" Now it was a question, because Sweetie could only really do so much.

But it was enough, it seemed.

Once again, Rarity huffed out a tired, "fine!" before scratching her smooth nails back through her hair. The fine curls came loose, falling as limp at her shoulders as Rarity surely felt herself.

Now that Sweetie was getting a better look, she could see a faded grey gathering just beneath her sister's eyes. And the red haze that had glazed them over.

"Fine, fine, fine. Fine! I'll go to bed,” Rarity mumbled, her words a slurry of tired ramblings caught under her breath. “Happy now?"

Sweetie smiled. "Yup!"

She was most definitely happy.

Rarity seemed to accept that answer, for however much merit such acceptance was worth. Sweetie suspected that her sister would just wait until she had left before getting back to her oh-so ‘important commission’. It had certainly happened before.

But that was why Sweetie stuck her nose in.

When Sweetie didn’t budge from her spot at the door frame, that message seemed to finally cement itself.

“I said I’m going to bed,” Rarity repeated.

With a shrug, Sweetie easily replied, “I don’t believe you.”

Another groan, another sigh and another roll of Rarity’s eyes. “Honestly-”

“You’re _definitely_ just going to get back to work the moment I close this door.”

“I will not.”

_Filthy lies._ “You totally will.”

Rarity bristled at that, her foot stamp without a second thought. “If you haven’t noticed, Sweetie Belle, I’m not that immature.”

Yes, right. Because stamping your foot was the epitome of cultured and emotional superiority. Even ignoring that, Sweetie wasn’t about to take the chance.

If Rarity wasn’t going to look after herself, then Sweetie would have to be the better person instead.

"Get to bed, Rarity," Sweetie Belle repeated. She crossed her arms across her chest, defying the slight tiredness in her own eyes. "Now."

There was an initial reluctance, one that suggested Rarity was going to fight against the subject further... but in the end, she didn't. She rolled her eyes, sighed through gritted teeth and relented, clenching her fists one last time before pushing her way passed Sweetie Belle and out of the room.

Sweetie knew the routine; her sister would brush her teeth and complete all her usual little rituals over the course of ten minutes. Sometimes more, but never less.

Waiting that time out was of little consequence when she finally saw Rarity return. She roughly motioned for Sweetie Belle to move out of her way.

Success already in hand, Sweetie decided she could afford at least that much.

"I'm going to bed," Rarity repeated. Grunted.

Sweetie didn't doubt that she was telling the truth. After all was said and done, a girl like Rarity didn't go through a routine before bed just to ignore it. "I hope you're happy,” Rarity added.

Sweetie repeated herself again, clapping her hands once with a genuine smile. "Yup!"


	2. Eat Food, Don't Die

When she was especially busy, Rarity skipped out on more than just sleep. For all the hassle Sweetie Belle had been put through when _she_ had missed minor events during the day, it irritated her to no end that Rarity was happy to put herself through the exact same hurdles.

And ignoring those little moments when she had gotten in Sweetie's way, it all came down to one thing; Rarity cared about Sweetie’s well-being enough to butt her nose in when she thought it mattered, even if doing so would cause trouble for their relationship in the short run.

All the homework she had made just on time, all the random occasions where she had found the time to spend with friends. When she had been younger, it had been because of Rarity. She'd _made_ Sweetie find the time. She'd made sure Sweetie could go out with her friends... by making her get the chores done first.

A pain in the butt, yes. But pains in the butt that had helped, nonetheless.

If her sister was really going to go full hypocrite and push herself, Sweetie wanted to at least give Rarity the same assistance.

"You need food."

"I do not need food."

“Eating food means you don't die, so yes. You do need food."

Rarity sighed, a recurring theme when someone told her what to do. "What I mean is, I don't need food right this instant."

A potentially valid point, but... "When was the last time you ate?"

More so than Sweetie had thought, the question caught Rarity off-guard. She paused in her work, her hands hovering over the fabric laid on the sewing machine. "I... can't remember. This morning?"

"I was downstairs watching cartoons all morning, and you didn't once go anywhere near the kitchen."

"Ah." Yes, 'ah'. "That- yes, that sounds about right. Oh dear..."

"You can't just work all day, Rarity."

"No, I can! If I get the dress for Luna completed tonight, then I'll have enough spare time to get my commission for Bulk completed tomorrow, which means I'll have-"

"I thought you said you gave yourself two weeks to get stuff done?"

"I do, but if I get things finished in just _one_ week, it gives me time to make changes, or react to customer feedback. And if I do so, it creates a rather lovely perception of my ability as a potential vendor to future customers."

"You're not going to be any sort of good vendor if you die from exhaustion."

A little bit of an exaggeration, sure. Sweetie would admit to that. But seeing her sister back at her table for the third night in a row almost hurt. Like she was seeing an ice cream melting slowly in a kid's hand in real time. But not slow enough for them to catch it melting themselves.

That poor ice cream...

"Please, don't be the ice cream, Rarity."

That did make Rarity stop, if nothing else. She swiveled in her chair, coming to an unsteady halt facing Sweetie Belle. "What was that about ice cream?"

Wait, bad timing. "Ignore the ice cream." Stupid short attention span. That was one thing Rarity had over her, at the very least. "The ice cream isn't important."

"But-"

"You need some real food." Might as well keep the metaphor going. Just look at her, adapting to her mistakes. Like a proper teenager. Sweetie inwardly smiled in a selfish sense of pride. "There's still that salad that you made, in the fridge."

Rarity sat on the edge of her chair, spinning on the axis once and her face wincing at the sight of the half-finished dressed and all the stray fabrics attached to it. Then she continued back around to face Sweetie. "I suppose eating something would be good to build up my energy."

"And you won't die."

Her sister smiled at that. "Yes, I also won't die. Very astute of you, Sweetie."

Before Rarity had a chance to dodge, Sweetie stepped forward and grabbed her sister's hand. "Come on! I'll have one of those microwave burgers." The one with two kinds of cheese.

Rarity grimaced. "If you touch that burger, I won't be stepping foot in the kitchen, let alone eating anything."

Sweetie reluctantly took her turn to grumble. She’d earned it.

Almost as much as she thought she’d earned that hamburger. "Ugh, fine. Just make sure you eat your stupid salad."

_“Yes, Mother.”_


	3. Call Your Girlfriend

Sweetie Belle had been quite taken by the idea of actually getting to bed for a change. Sure, she enjoyed playing games with her friends and, yes, obviously time wasted sleeping was time she could have been doing a whole number of much more interesting things. But even Sweetie needed to recharge her batteries every now and then, for as little as everyone else seemed to think she did.

Being as amazing as any of her friends took a proper sleep schedule, even if she didn’t want to admit it.

That said, you couldn’t keep a sleep schedule if you were getting calls just as you were about to finally fall asleep.

Squinting at a screen that glared far-too brightly out into the calm darkness, Sweetie blinked once, then twice before deciding she couldn’t see the contact name, couldn’t be bothered to try for any longer and decided to just answer it anyway.

“Hello?”

This had better be good, she thought. She readied to close her eyes again, but the voice surprised her.

“Hi, Sweetie. It’s Fluttershy.”

… Fluttershy?

But Sweetie would have known that, if she’d waited until her eyes adjusted. Fluttershy should probably have known it was silly to say who she was for the same reason, but that was beside the point. “What’s wrong?”

Because if Fluttershy phoned you just as you were settling into bed, something was wrong. Something could be wrong if she phoned you at any time of the day (it was quite worrying, now that Sweetie considered it) but it felt particularly sinister when someone like Fluttershy was the one needing your help.

“Have you heard from Rarity?”

Wha- “A few hours ago.” Maybe. “Why? Has something happened?”

The lengthy pause on the other end suggested that something had indeed happened. Or at the very least, Fluttershy felt like it had.

“She said she would phone me tonight.” And then, “She’s bumped me off a few times already,” before her voice grew back into its usual sweet melody. “I’ve texted her at least six times in the last two hours and she hasn’t even seen them yet.”

That… didn’t sound right. Wasn’t Rarity in the house? Hadn’t Sweetie heard her swearing about something stupid half-an-hour ago?

Sweetie was sure she had, but teetering on the edge of sleep as she was, she would believe anything that remotely tried to claim to be a memory.

So, Sweetie sat up, deciding that if she was going to be kept awake by her sister’s girlfriend, she might as well put effort into being conscious while she did so. It was a struggle – one for the ages – but her pillow proved a good source of leverage.

She checked the time, too.

Almost eleven thirty. Maybe she had actually been asleep after all. Sweetie was sure she’d tucked in near ten.

“If you give me a minute, I can go check on her.”

“She’s with you?”

“Yeah.”

“And where are you?”

“In bed.”

That… was the wrong thing to say to someone like Fluttershy.

“Oh my gosh! _No, I’m so sorry!_ I thought you would still be awake. Rarity says you’re always up late. I thought maybe I’d disrupt a game, but you’re super nice and I know you can pause most games so I thought it would be okay.” She spoke at a million miles an hour and Sweetie didn’t have the energy to stop her. “And even if you were playing something online I thought you’d be okay multitasking for a few minutes while I checked in but I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

Sweetie absorbed the two seconds of silence. It was enough. “It’s okay, Fluttershy. Really.” As if to defy her own claim, Sweetie let out a wide, gaping yawn. “It’s fine.” Almost fine. “I’ll go and see her. It’s not cool if she’s ghosting you.”

If nothing else, Sweetie was going to kick Rarity’s butt for:

  1. A) Worrying her utterly-kind-to-a-fault girlfriend and;
  2. B) Losing Sweetie sleep because of it.



Rarity would rue the day. Night.

She would _rue it._

It was too late to be witty, and Sweetie knew it. She promised Fluttershy to check, promised again when Fluttershy apologized some more and hung up the phone when she found a second to spare.

Right _. Rarity._

Sweetie carried herself wearily across the hall, her eyes bleary and the dark of the house just that little bit too much now that she had to endure it. But she did, and she found her way to Rarity’s room.

She knocked, just as she had been taught. But desperate times called for desperate measures, so she barged in right after.

"Hey, sis?” she said, just about holding back another yawn. “Fluttershy's asking if you're okay."

Rarity's head popped up from the suit sleeve she was sewing. "Fluttershy?" she asked, her voice dry. "Why is she asking you?"

"Because you haven't replied to her messages."

Rarity scoffed. "She hasn’t _been_ messaging me." She reached over for her phone. The smile that had worked its way onto Rarity's face withered and died a quick, painful death. "Ah. Yes. Fluttershy. It appears... she may have left me a few messages..."

"She said six." Ish.

Sweetie could see Rarity counting silently under her breath, eyes squinting at the screen. Did she realize how dark it was in her room?

How was she even getting any work done?

"Fourteen."

Sounded about right for Fluttershy. "A bit more than six."

"Thirteen more than I should have missed, however." She tapped away at her screen.

Sweetie waited patiently as she did, watching her sister's face morph from one of apology, to worry. Then finally a pleasant acceptance.

Rarity let a sigh escape her as she stared at her phone. "I really don't mean to worry her, you understand?"

It was a little hard to not worry Fluttershy at the best of times, but Sweetie understood the sentiment, at least. She supposed that came with the territory of dating someone so... well, shy. Fragile?

It was too late to worry about which words would upset Fluttershy.

"Might be a little handy if you at least answer her texts."

"Yes, I suppose it would."

Rarity stretched her arms high, pulling at her muscles until the limit… before letting her limbs fall limp once more.

"I also suppose you're going to tell it's time to go to bed."

"I'd probably suggest calling your girlfriend."

It was important to weigh out your priorities, Sweetie Belle had been taught. The important things always remained important, but sometimes other things mattered a little more in the moment.

Fluttershy and/or your girlfriend also named Fluttershy seemed like a good interruption. Besides, Sweetie knew she was awake. A phone call wouldn’t hurt.

"I was going to say I'd be better doing the same thing."

Good.

It was good to see that they were on the same page, for once.

Even now, the thought of calling Fluttershy seemed to ease the strain on Rarity's face. Her cheeks felt fuller, her eyes filled with the sparkle that only seemed to show when she was in deep with her cloth and her fabric and threads.

"I shall say hello for you," Rarity added.

"I spoke to her two minutes ago."

"... Yes. Of course, you did."


	4. The Best Spoiled Milk Ever

Button Mash was bad enough when you went AFK. Leave yourself idle for more than a minute and you could guarantee on your grandma's life that you would come back to find yourself balanced _very_ precariously on the _very_ edge of a convently placed cliff. Several blocks out and staring at the sky, if he had the time.

He left you with a high chance that you would die. Not a definite one, but a chance all the same if you weren’t paying attention.

Scootaloo, though…

 _Oh, Scootaloo._ She doesn't just grief you.

Oh no, she doesn't stop there.

She goes the extra mile. She builds a Nether portal; she pushes you inside. She sleeps right outside the portal and then goes inside herself to destroy the portal from the other side to strand you there.

The she kills herself.

She respawns. She destroys the original _stupid_ portal and then she destroys the bed at your base for good measure.

She didn't just inconvenience you. She made sure you wanted to get back at her afterwards. That's how it always started when your brought Scootaloo into a server.

_And how it always ended..._

"Stupid- I spent _two hours_ making all that stuff!"

Falling asleep on the keyboard had been a bad idea. It had given Scootaloo ages to set out her plan of attack.

She'd put Sweetie into a cage of iron bars… so that was something, at least.

Not that it helped her find Button and his portal before she lost absolutely everything important that she had spent _the entire session building but that didn't matter at all, did it?_

"I'm going to trap her in the Nether, see how she likes it. Put her in a little obsidian box above lava and make her dig out through the dirt at the bottom until she dies and loses everything she's ever loved and worked for and _we'll see who's laughing then_."

It would be Sweetie.

She would be the one laughing, and it would be glorious. Button could help her. Maybe he could give her creative rights the next time Scoots went AFK.

Or maybe he could teleport Scootaloo straight to the Nether and make her start from there next time.

So many choices.

It was too early in the day for so many choices.

One of the many issues with falling asleep at a table was the stiffness in every stupid inch of your stupid body once you woke up. You woke up sore. You woke up tired and with your cheek resting against several letters on a more than uncomfortable keyboard.

It was times like these that grilled cheese was made for. Or, at the very least, toast and some cheese thrown into the microwave. Crude, but effective.

Speaking of crude and effective, she found someone already in the kitchen.

Rarity was hunched over the table, cradling a cup of what could only be coffee between two very shaky hands.

"Uh, hey," Sweetie offered. She eyed Rarity up and down, taking it all in. "You okay?" Sweetie was groggy, sure. It was barely ten and there was little chance of getting back to sleep. Practically sunrise, for a Sunday.

Her sister looked like a burst carton of spoiled milk.

"I am now,” Rarity answered. “Four commissions finished in one night. That's a personal best, if I do say so myself."

Sweetie balked. "Four? All of them?"

"Yes. Usually you stop me, so I assumed I was good to go."

Staying at your desk throughout the night because your little sister fell asleep playing Minecraft wasn't a good reason in the slightest.

_"All night?"_

"I made good progress."

"You look like a horse that's about to be turned into glue."

Or not far from it, at least. Breakfast was long overdue, and toast with cheese had seemed like such a pleasant idea. Less pleasant was finding your older sister hunched over the dining room table with her second- no, _third_ cup of coffee and her usually pristine hair matted to the side of her face.

Rarity paused, staring intently towards the far wall. "I suppose my voice is a little hoarse, yes."

Sweetie stared to her. "Yeah. That's totally what I said."

"Thank you."

Right. Tired... and delirious. And soon to be jacked up on too much coffee and not enough sleep or food to counter it at all.

How very grown up. Sweetie supposed her sister would be right at home if she worked in an office job, right now. A very different kind of businesswoman.

"Oh, and thank you for bringing me that sandwich yesterday. It got me through the night."

Oh. Well… she was genuinely welcome for that. Even if Sweetie wished her sister had eaten something after the sandwich. "It's okay. Just trying to make sure you don't die from not eating food every once in a while."

"I really do appreciate it."

A bit more lucid than Sweetie Belle had thought, too. Maybe she was being too judgmental about everything. About her sister and her work. She was doing good for herself, after all.

And mom always said that there wasn't any success without at least a little sacrifice.

"I don't say this as often as I should, but you're very mature for your age. You're so thoughtful, and you try your best."

Sweetie was definitely being too harsh.

"You're the best big sister I could ask for."

Or not. "I'm your little sister."

Rarity cooed. "Oh, yes you are," she said, reaching out to scratch at Sweetie's hair. Sweetie moved back only slightly, but it was enough to avoid certain scritchy-scratchy death. "You're the best little sister I could ever ask for.”

"You just said-" Not lucid. Not at all. "It's fine. Thanks, sis.”

Sweetie wasn't quite sure what part she was thanking for, but the smile Rarity sent back to her felt warm and comfy all the same.

“You’re the best big sister I could ask for, too."


End file.
